State staff gets year before partners lose benefits

Review of new law also affects some adult offspring

State employees will get another year of health benefits for
domestic partners and some adult offspring until a law eliminates
them from coverage.

A legal review determined existing contracts with state
employees will be honored.

The law will change who is eligible as of Oct. 1, 2010, instead
of this month, according to an Arizona Department of Administration
memo dated Friday.

A bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer redefined a "dependent" to mean
a "spouse under the laws of this state, a child who is under 19
years of age or is under 23 years of age and a full-time
student."

That excludes domestic partners, full-time students ages 23 and
24, and disabled adult children of employees who previously
qualified for benefits.

The law cancels a rule change made by former Gov. Janet
Napolitano that allowed domestic partners to receive benefits.

State offices were closed Monday for Columbus Day, but the
Department of Administration previously has stated that about 800
state employees are affected and that the cost to insure domestic
partners is about $3 million of the $625 million the state spends
on benefits.

The policy change will cut an estimated 40 same-sex partners and
130 opposite-sex partners at the University of Arizona. In a
September memo, UA President Robert Shelton discussed the policy
change.

"When coverage for domestic partners was announced last year, we
celebrated the state's stance," he wrote. "HB 2013 challenges our
values of equity and inclusion, and also appears to exclude vital
health insurance coverage for many disabled dependents. Benefits
parity is essential for a world-class university, and we are
resolved to achieve it."